Quick Guide To Starting an Ecommerce Business From Scratch

If you want to work from home, then one business that can be started quite quickly, and grown at whatever level you want, is an online ecommerce business. It could be that you have a hobby creating things that you could sell, or would want to source things from a supplier that you can then sell online for a profit. It can seem quite straightforward, and in many cases it is, but there are a few things that you need to know and think about before you start an online selling business. Make sure that you protect yourself legally, as well as making sure that you get your finances in order, then look to market and sell your products, all before building the online platform that you want to use.

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Persona and Product Selection

If you have decided on the niche of the business that you want to have, and looked at the business model that you want to use (such as using eBay, Etsy or your own site), then it is time to look at the persona of the business. Don’t go ahead to look for products right away. Instead, think about the business persona. You can’t expect people to be interested in what you are selling and buy from you if you don’t know who you are selling to. What does the store stand for or represent? Who is your ideal customer? From there you can choose a consistent image for your brand, that is likely to start with your brand name. 

Get Your Business Licenses

If you aren’t too sure about the things that you need to do when it comes to the business side of things, then first comes with registering your business. You also need to look into things like business licences, but it will all depend on what you are selling and the kind of business that you have. If you can find a mentor that can help, or equally, using a site like eBay to sell takes some of the pressure off.

Plan Your Budget

Any business will need to have a stellar plan when it comes to finances. By sorting out your finances then you will know if the business is even going to be viable enough or not. From there, you can plan how much you are going to charge for things. Just make sure that you take into account all the different aspects of money that you’ll need to consider. Remember the postage costs, getting a good deal from foam packaging suppliers to mail things out, as well as selling costs if you are using a host like Etsy to sell. Website fees, card charges, and insurance should all be considered too.

Insurance

You can’t have a business where you are selling things to the general public without having some insurance. You need to be covered if your product damages someone, or it isn’t sold as advertised. Hopefully, you won’t ever need to use the insurance, but you do need to have it.